This cahier aims to identify and analyze the consequences of international migration movements on the school itineraries and aspirations of children who have been exposed to international migration ... [more ▼]

This cahier aims to identify and analyze the consequences of international migration movements on the school itineraries and aspirations of children who have been exposed to international migration between Mexico and the U. S. Some of these children are active actors of migratory flows because they moved from one country to another. Others are not active migrants; however, given the fact that they belong to divided families due to international migration, they are exposed to the impacts of their family members’ decisions. Consequently, two critical components of their migratory experiences will be the focus of our analysis. Firstly, we will analyze their school trajectory and secondly the family dispersion due to their migratory decisions. [less ▲]

This report presents the results of numerical simulations on five tests conducted on reinforced concrete columns in fire. The data for the studied RC columns have been provided by the CERIB in the ... [more ▼]

This report presents the results of numerical simulations on five tests conducted on reinforced concrete columns in fire. The data for the studied RC columns have been provided by the CERIB in the document “CEN-TC250-SC2-WG1-TG5_N0043_Annex_C_examples_Jesper_Jensen”. This study is part of the research project CEN-TC250-SC2-WG1-TG5 on the revision of EN1992-1-2, which focuses on the columns. The numerical software that is used for the simulations is the non-linear finite element software SAFIR, version 2013a0. [less ▲]

Experimental testing may be used to demonstrate the fire resistance of building construction elements. In order to allow comparing the results of tests made in different laboratories on various types of ... [more ▼]

Experimental testing may be used to demonstrate the fire resistance of building construction elements. In order to allow comparing the results of tests made in different laboratories on various types of elements, the tests have to be performed under well-defined standardised conditions. Such standards define the heating and loading conditions, but also the performance criteria that have to be applied to measure the fire resistance duration. In Europe, the procedure that leads to the classification of building construction elements with regards to fire resistance involves a two level process. In the first stage, one or several tests are performed by a laboratory that must have accreditation according to ISO 17025, and one test report is issued for each test. Thereafter, a competent body will compile the necessary test reports and issue a classification report, the results of which can be used by the different stakeholders of the construction process, e.g. by authorities having jurisdiction. For the loadbearing performance, it appears that different logical combinations of the criteria are considered in the test standard and in the classification standard, leading to a inextricable situation. This situation has to be fixed in order to lead to a complete credible and applicable system. In order to provide scientific evidence about the consequences of adopting one or the other of both loadbearing definitions, the results of 46 tests performed in the fire resistance lab of the University of Liege in the recent years are analysed in this paper. [less ▲]

This report compares two important corridor migrations to Belgium in order to better understand the variation in several dimensions of Turkish and Moroccan immigrants’ integration – in particular, labour ... [more ▼]

This report compares two important corridor migrations to Belgium in order to better understand the variation in several dimensions of Turkish and Moroccan immigrants’ integration – in particular, labour market, education and citizenship. It is based on an original methodology combining three different data sources (an analysis of the legal and political frameworks, a quantitative analysis, and a survey). It aims to test the INTERACT project’s main hypothesis which conceives of integration as a three-way process. This report provides insight on integration from the immigration country perspective but also from the countries of origin; it appraises the impact that Turkey and Morocco may have on the integration of their migrants in Belgium. The main findings are the following. Firstly, the countries of origin may have an impact on integration when emigration starts. Secondly, countries of origin may have a positive or negative impact on some integration dimensions (citizenship) but no obvious impact on others (education and labour market). In their efforts to maintain and develop links and to protect migrants’ rights abroad, countries of origin can thus facilitate integration, but indirectly. [less ▲]

The EU-funded 'Odour monitoring and information system based on citizen and technology innovative sensors' (http://www.omniscientis.eu/, OMNISCIENTIS) project has made significant inroads in this regard ... [more ▼]

The EU-funded 'Odour monitoring and information system based on citizen and technology innovative sensors' (http://www.omniscientis.eu/, OMNISCIENTIS) project has made significant inroads in this regard with the aim of mitigating odour annoyance. To begin with, documents were developed describing the desired specifications for odour measurement, dispersion modelling and information technologies. In parallel, the needs and expectations of all stakeholders, including citizens, regulatory authorities and industrial bodies, were taken into consideration. Citizens' feedback on odour acceptability levels were gathered through smartphones and using the living lab approach. They were further combined with measurements from e-nose and odour dispersion models. Project members developed an Odour Information System that produces validated monitoring statistics and impact levels for local authorities to support environment-related decision-making and for citizens to give them feedback on their complaints. A mobile application is also available, used by citizens to perform odour related observations. Over 5000 observations were sent until now. Besides, two in-situ e-nose sensors and a meteorological station were installed and calibrated in the industrial site in Belgium, serving as pilot. Further 18 industrial parameters are collected in real time and 15 odour field surveys have been performed to understand odour sources and characteristics. The e-nose technology was optimised through tests and improvements to better understand relevant odour parameters at the second pilot site, a pig farm in Austria. Researchers adapted the GRAL-System pollutant dispersion model to develop a fast odour dispersion modelling system using harmonised real-time meteorological data and industrial emission measurements. It was validated with the odour emission rates, olfactometry campaigns and citizens observations. Most of the GRAL-solver components were implemented in Cuda with a speed improved by a factor superior of 100. Project activities were disseminated via project website and factsheets, 3 scientific papers, 13 international conferences and 3 user workshops involving selected citizens, technicians and authorities. Local environmental governance was enhanced through citizen empowerment via monthly meetings and specific methodologies. Better and timely feedback on undesirable odours arising from certain emissions will help in setting evidence-based acceptable odour limits. Ultimately, a particular attention have been addressed by all partners and in particular by involved SMEs in order to ensure the exploitation of the results and enabling the identification of concrete commercial opportunities that may be pursued after the project. [less ▲]

In June 2014, the SFX® MISCELLANEOUS_FREE_EJOURNALS target contained more than 24,000 portfolios of all kinds. The SFX Knowledge Base Advisory Board (KBAB) decided to carry out an international survey to ... [more ▼]

In June 2014, the SFX® MISCELLANEOUS_FREE_EJOURNALS target contained more than 24,000 portfolios of all kinds. The SFX Knowledge Base Advisory Board (KBAB) decided to carry out an international survey to get an overview of the usage that is done of this target by the SFX community and to precisely identify what could be done to improve it. The target is widely used among the community. However, many respondents complained about these top three problems: (1) Incorrect parse params (broken links); (2) Full texts actually not free; (3) Incorrect or missing thresholds. [less ▲]

Conducting round robin exercises is one of EGOLF's key activities. A round robin exercise is a necessary tool to improve and maintain a good level of quality within EGOLF. A good plan of the round robin ... [more ▼]

Conducting round robin exercises is one of EGOLF's key activities. A round robin exercise is a necessary tool to improve and maintain a good level of quality within EGOLF. A good plan of the round robin exercise will make the work easier, and will help avoid problems and misunderstandings. The intention is to give general guidelines on how to organize round robins in a standardized way within EGOLF. The document is divided into the following parts - Preparing and planning the round robin - Testing - Data analysis and reporting These guidelines comply with the ISO 5725 prescriptions. [less ▲]

Damage and fracture modeling deals with material softening and strain localization, which usu- ally leads to unwanted numerical features like loss of ellipticity of equilibrium equations, bifurcation into ... [more ▼]

Damage and fracture modeling deals with material softening and strain localization, which usu- ally leads to unwanted numerical features like loss of ellipticity of equilibrium equations, bifurcation into a shear band, etc. A first step before dealing with these problems is to have already a stable, accurate integration scheme for the damage model. Here, the numerical integration of an extended version of the Gurson model (comprising plastic anisotropy and mixed isotropic-kinematic hardening) proposed by Ben Bettaieb et al. (2011b), is revisited and further extended to include nucleation, coalescence and shear. The main feature of this scheme is that all the variables are integrated in an implicit way based on the projection algorithm, while the consistent tangent matrix is obtained analytically. A detailed derivation of the equations used to extend the model is presented and a link with the developed subroutine is made. The efficiency of the implementation is assessed by comparing the numerical results from homogeneous cases from those taken from the literature. The results are in good agreement, hence implying that the model can be used in more complex simulations involving heterogeneous strain paths. [less ▲]

The goal of the project FloodLand is to investigate the complex interactions between landuse change and future flood risk. Landuse change is assumed to be mainly driven by population growth and socio ... [more ▼]

The goal of the project FloodLand is to investigate the complex interactions between landuse change and future flood risk. Landuse change is assumed to be mainly driven by population growth and socio-economic factors. It affects future flood risk by altering catchment hydrology as well as vulnerability in the floodplains; but the feedback effect of (the perception of) changes in flood hazard on landuse evolution is also considered. The research is based on a chain of modelling tools, which represent parts of the natural and human systems, including: landuse change modelling, transportation modelling as an onset for the estimation of indirect flood damage, continuous hydrological modelling (forced by precipitation and temperature data disturbed according to climate change scenarios), as well as efficient hydraulic modelling of inundation flow in the floodplains. Besides reproducing a broad spectrum of processes, the modelling approach spans over multiple scales, from the regional or catchment level down to the floodplain and building levels. This distinctive feature is reflected both within the individual models and through their combination involving fine-scale detailed analyses (or data) embedded within coarser models at a broader level. [less ▲]

With respect to water management in the Meuse basin, the hydrological consequences of climate change have been taken into account in several studies so far; but this is not the case of many other ... [more ▼]

With respect to water management in the Meuse basin, the hydrological consequences of climate change have been taken into account in several studies so far; but this is not the case of many other environmental and socio-economic changes, including trends in future water demand. The objective of this report is to serve as an onset for the development of a first approach to estimate at a relatively large-scale future water demand in the Meuse basin. Based on a review of recent literature, this report discusses the key drivers which influence water demand, with the aim of identifying the most suitable methods to implement in a subsequence more detailed analysis, as well as to highlight the data needs. [less ▲]

This report presents the results of numerical simulations conducted on reinforced concrete columns in fire for comparison of the computed fire resistance with the fire resistance obtained by the tabulated ... [more ▼]

This report presents the results of numerical simulations conducted on reinforced concrete columns in fire for comparison of the computed fire resistance with the fire resistance obtained by the tabulated methods of EN1992-1-2. The data for the studied RC columns have been provided by the CERIB in the document “CENTC250-SC2-WG1-TG5_N0038_Column_Calculation”. This study is part of the research project CEN-TC250-SC2-WG1-TG5. The objective is to assess the validity of and possibly to revise the tabulated methods of EN1992-1-2. The numerical software that is used for the simulations is the non-linear finite element software SAFIR, version 2013a0. [less ▲]

This report presents the results of numerical simulations conducted on reinforced concrete columns in fire for comparison of the computed fire resistance with the fire resistance obtained by the tabulated ... [more ▼]

This report presents the results of numerical simulations conducted on reinforced concrete columns in fire for comparison of the computed fire resistance with the fire resistance obtained by the tabulated methods of EN1992-1-2. The data for the studied RC columns have been provided by the CERIB in the document “CENTC250-SC2-WG1-TG5_N0037_Annex_C_studies_Jesper_Jensen”. This study is part of the research project CEN-TC250-SC2-WG1-TG5. The objective is to assess the validity of and possibly to revise the tabulated methods of EN1992-1-2. The numerical software that is used for the simulations is the non-linear finite element software SAFIR, version 2013a0. [less ▲]

This report, commissioned by the European Commission, undertakes to map out the practice of Belgian courts and authorities in relation to the Brussels IIbis Regulation (Regulation 2201/2003). It is based ... [more ▼]

This report, commissioned by the European Commission, undertakes to map out the practice of Belgian courts and authorities in relation to the Brussels IIbis Regulation (Regulation 2201/2003). It is based on a questionnaire submitted to experts in all Member States in the framework of a study on the assessment of the Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 and the policy options for its amendment (call for tenders No JUST/2012/JCIV/FW/0195/A4). The purpose of this backward-looking evaluation is to assess the practical application and the effects of Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 in terms of its relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, and EU added value and utility. [less ▲]

During this research, previously unexplored meandering flows in free-surface rectangular shallow reservoirs were investigated theoretically, experimentally and numerically. For the first time, a complete ... [more ▼]

During this research, previously unexplored meandering flows in free-surface rectangular shallow reservoirs were investigated theoretically, experimentally and numerically. For the first time, a complete description of the hydrodynamics of the meandering flows was obtained from laboratory experiments. An innovative procedure for the characterisation of the physics of the flow was developed based on several techniques, including Large Scale Particle Image Velocimetry (LSPIV), Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) and a new topology algorithm. This research provides new insights into these fascinating meandering flows, of high practical relevance in civil and environmental engineering. Six papers were written and, so far, five of them have been accepted for publication (two in international journals and three in peer-reviewed international conference proceedings). [less ▲]

The goal of the project FloodLand is to investigate the complex interactions between landuse change and future flood risk. Landuse change is assumed to be mainly driven by population growth and socio ... [more ▼]

The goal of the project FloodLand is to investigate the complex interactions between landuse change and future flood risk. Landuse change is assumed to be mainly driven by population growth and socio-economic factors. It affects future flood risk by altering catchment hydrology as well as vulnerability in the floodplains; but the feedback effect of (the perception of) changes in flood hazard on landuse evolution is also considered. The research is based on a chain of modelling tools, which represent parts of the natural and human systems, including: landuse change modelling, transportation modelling as an onset for the estimation of indirect flood damage, continuous hydrological modelling (forced by precipitation and temperature data disturbed according to climate change scenarios), as well as efficient hydraulic modelling of inundation flow in the floodplains. Besides reproducing a broad spectrum of processes, the modelling approach spans over multiple scales, from the regional or catchment level down to the floodplain and building levels. This distinctive feature is reflected both within the individual models and through their combination involving fine-scale detailed analyses (or data) embedded within coarser models at a broader level. [less ▲]

Brussels New Deal or Sustainable Urban Growth Pact (2011) goals administrations, brussels minister's cabinets and social partners working together to promote growth and employment in Brussels Region. By ... [more ▼]

Brussels New Deal or Sustainable Urban Growth Pact (2011) goals administrations, brussels minister's cabinets and social partners working together to promote growth and employment in Brussels Region. By means of 24 interviews and 2 Focus Group, authors evaluated the quality of coordination between these actors studying 8 actions of Brussels New Deal. [less ▲]

The shared frailty model is one of the popular tool to analyze correlated right-censored time-to-event data. In the shared frailty model, the latent frailty is assumed to be shared by the members of a ... [more ▼]

The shared frailty model is one of the popular tool to analyze correlated right-censored time-to-event data. In the shared frailty model, the latent frailty is assumed to be shared by the members of a cluster and is assigned a parametric distribution, typically, a gamma distribution due to its conjugacy. However, in case of interval-censored time-to-event data, the inclusion of gamma frailties results in complicated intractable likelihoods, where the conjugacy property does not hold anymore. Here, we propose a semiparametric Bayesian frailty model for analyzing such data. We discuss three parametric specifications for frailty distribution in the analysis of interval-censored data. Afterwards we call particular attention to nonparametric specification of the frailty distribution. The results of the simulation study suggest that the proposed approach is robust to misspecification of the frailty distribution. Moreover, the performance of the proposed methodology is quite good in practical situations where the frailty distribution is multimodal or skewed. The approach is applied to dental data arising from the Signal Tandmobiel Study. [less ▲]